Institute for Physical Science & Technology

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Theodore J. Rosenberg

Professor
Space Plasma Physics

Professor Rosenberg's research interests encompass ionosphere-magnetosphere physics and emphasize the study of energetic electron precipitation, auroral x-rays, cosmic radio noise absorption, magnetic storms and substorms, and wave-particle interactions at ULF to HF frequencies. A long-term practical goal of this research is to improve the capability to forecast and mitigate the influence of "space weather" events on terrestrial technological systems. His principal research activities at present center on ground-based experimental programs with riometers and photometers in both polar regions. His technical interests include the development of digital data acquisition systems, HF antenna and phasing systems, and riometer receivers. Professor Rosenberg and his group developed the Imaging Riometer for Ionospheric Studies (IRIS), now used by many research groups. IRIS uses HF galactic radio waves to image regions of enhanced ionization of the upper atmosphere associated with the polar aurorae. Professor Rosenberg is the Project Scientist for NSF's Polar Experiment Network for Geophysical Upper-atmosphere Investigations (PENGUIn), the ground-based array of automated geophysical observatories (AGOs) operating on the Antarctic polar plateau. He is also a co-investigator on the Polar Ionospheric X-ray Imaging Experiment (PIXIE) on the POLAR satellite, which provides global images of the x-ray aurorae as part of NASA's Global Geospace Sciences mission.

Selected publications:

1. Substorm Precipitation in the Polar Cap and Associated Pc 5 Modulation, Geophys. Res. Lett., 24, 579-582, 1997 (A.T. Weatherwax, T.J. Rosenberg, C.G. Maclennan and J.H. Doolittle).
2. Analysis of the Martian Atmosphere for Riometry, Planet. Space Sci., 45, 289-294, 1997 (D.L. Detrick, T.J. Rosenberg and C.D. Fry).
3. A Study of Substorm-Associated Nightside Spike Events in Auroral Absorption Using Imaging Riometers at South Pole and Kilpisj\rvi, J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phys., 59, 853-872, 1997 (J.K. Hargreaves, S. Browne, H. Ranta, A. Ranta, T.J. Rosenberg, and D. L. Detrick).